Shraddha Kapoor, who will be seen playing Saina Nehwal in an upcoming biopic directed by Amole Gupte, says she is really honoured to essay the role of the Indian badminton star in the film.

We did know Bollywood actress Shraddha Kapoor was playing Saina Nehwal in the ace badminton player’s biopic, but what we didn’t know was how she was prepping for her role. Shraddha will be going through some paces under the watchful eyes of India’s national coach Pullela Gopichand and is also taking Saina’s tips to imbibe her on-court skills. Saina, on Friday, took to Twitter to share a picture from the training session which she captioned, “Today’s badminton practice session … Gopi sir , @ShraddhaKapoor and me #Biopic.”

“The preparation for this film is going to be very, very challenging. It’s probably going to be my most difficult film till date,” she added.

Saina is going to be directed by Amole Gupte and produced by T-Series.

Saina had earlier expressed the wish that if ever her biopic was made, she would like Deepika Padukone to play her role. However, when Shraddha’s casting was finalised, she told The Times of India, “It’s great if Shraddha plays me because she is a very talented actress and very hardworking. I am sure she will do justice to the role. The best part is, she is a good friend as well. So it will be easier to teach her some badminton skills (laughs!). A lot of people did tell me that we do look similar and I think that’s a huge compliment, because Shraddha is very good looking.”

Saina ended her association with coach Vimal Kumar after the World Championships in Glasgow last month and is training again with Gopichand.